end result: Phillies 7, Nationals 2
Just minutes after Dan Baker was honored for 50 years with the team, the Philadelphia Phillies stepped at the throats of the humble Washington Nationals on Friday and looked to be part of a team that will bring the voice of the legendary public address announcer back into the postseason will be the first time since 2011.
Rhys Hoskins, Nick Castellanos and Darick Hall combined for 1,141-foot homers at the bottom of Josiah Gray’s first inning to give Kyle Gibson an early 4-0 lead:
Before the night was out, JT Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber got into the action, with the Phillies using one of the wettest days of the summer to hit five home runs, none of which were under 360 feet.
That was more than enough for Kyle Gibson, who may have had his best start as a Phillie. Gibson was perfect in six innings and would ultimately limit the Nationals to just two hits and an eight-inning run.
With the win, the Phillies improve to 58-48, 10 games over .500. Shortly after taking over as interim manager, Rob Thomson spoke of going five games over .500 and then trying to go 10 games over .500. What’s next?
“15,” Thomson said with a smile after the game. “Well, 11 really. I always talk about building on five. Sometimes it takes a while. But that is our next goal.”
Meanwhile, the Nationals — just three years away from winning the World Series — have fallen to 36-72, the worst record in baseball.
Before tomorrow night’s game, the Phillies will add Bake McBride and Ron Reed to their Wall of Fame. Ranger Suárez will then square off against Patrick Corbin as the Phillies look for a series win and go 10 games over .500.
Shibe vintage sports Start pitching performance
- Josiah Gray — one of the key pieces the Nationals got from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Trea Turner/Max Scherzer deal — allowed five hits and six runs over four innings on Friday. After being tagged for four home runs, the 24-year-old has a 4.92 ERA this season.
- Kyle Gibson, as mentioned above, was enormous that evening. The 34-year-old’s ERA is now 4.36 this year.
Phillies nugget of the game
Dan Baker is believed to be the third public address announcer in MLB history to have worked for a single franchise for 50 years or more. The only others are Pat Piper (59-year-old with the Chicago Cubs) and Bob Sheppard (56-year-old with the New York Yankees).
Ticket IQ Next game
- Saturday, August 6th vs. Nationals at Citizens Bank Park
- 6:05 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Radio: Sports Radio 94 WIP
- Spanish radio: WTM 1680
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